Cardinal Wilton Gregory, the archbishop of Washington who serves as the Catholic co-chair of the National Council of Synagogues consultation for the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, issued the following statement on Dec. 18, 2023:

 “This weekend, a number of synagogues in the D.C. area received anonymous threatening messages and at least one of them experienced a physical incident. Such activities violate the human dignity of our Jewish neighbors and friends. There is no excuse for bullying or harassing people because of their religious or ethnic identity.  Such actions are in stark contradiction to our national and moral principles, and they only increase the environment of violence of the present moment.”

News4 reported that police officers on Dec. 17 arrested a man and charged him with simple assault and resisting arrest after he allegedly shouted “Gas the Jews” outside the Kesher Israel Congregation in Washington’s Georgetown neighborhood and sprayed a foul-smelling substance on two people. The news station reported that the victims were not physically hurt, and that D.C. police are investigating the incident as a possible hate or bias-motivated crime.

In a statement on the social media platform X, the Anti-Defamation League said, “Incidents like this one in DC are disturbing, and as our data shows, are part of an alarming trend around the US. We thank @DCPoliceDept for investigating and quickly apprehending the alleged suspect. We cannot allow #antisemitism to be normalized.”

 Ibrahim Hooper, the national communications director for the Council on American-Islamic Relations, said, “We welcome the arrest of the suspected perpetrator of the antisemitic assault and thank law enforcement authorities for their swift response to this troubling incident. No one should be subjected to violence on the basis of their faith or ethnicity.”